Saturday Night Live season 51

Saturday Night Live season 51

The fifty-first season of the American sketch comedy late night television program Saturday Night Live premiered on October 4, 2025 on NBC and Peacock during the 2025–26 television season, with host Bad Bunny and musical guest Doja Cat, and will conclude on May 16, 2026. In the season, the series reached a milestone: airing its 1,000th episode, on January 31, 2026, with host Alexander Skarsgård and musical guest Cardi B.

Cast

Saturday Night Live season 51

On August 22, 2025, prior to the start of the season, creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels confirmed that changes to the cast were guaranteed and that announcements about any changes would be made in the following weeks.

Beginning on August 25, a series of departures was announced, starting with Devon Walker (who had been let go from the show after three seasons - since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season48))), followed later by featured player Emil Wakim (who was let go after one season), Michael Longfellow (also let go after three seasons - since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season48))), Heidi Gardner (who had been let go after eight seasons - since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season43))), and Ego Nwodim (who voluntarily left after seven seasons - since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason44)).

On September 2, 2025, five new featured cast members were announced: stand-up comic Tommy Brennan, Upright Citizens Brigade performer and Dropout TV regular Jeremy Culhane, stand-up comic and Kill Tony podcast regular Kam Patterson, social media comedian and actress Veronika Slowikowska, and Ben Marshall, SNL staff writer and member of the comedy trio and former SNL collaborators, Please Don't Destroy. PDD's time on SNL ended after four seasons ((/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season47))–(/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season50))) as John Higgins departed the show while Martin Herlihy remained in a writing-only capacity.

Michaels also confirmed that James Austin Johnson would return, noting that the show would rely on Johnson's Donald Trump impersonation for the foreseeable future.

This was the final season for longtime cast member Bowen Yang (who started on the writing staff in (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason44) and had been a cast member since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason45)), as he left the show following the Christmas episode hosted by his Wicked co-star, Ariana Grande, on December 20, 2025. He is the sixth cast member to leave the show in 2025, following the former cast members listed above.

bold denotes "Weekend Update" anchor

Writers

Saturday Night Live season 51

On August 24, 2025, writer Celeste Yim announced, via Instagram, that they had left the show after five seasons. Yim joined the writing staff in (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season46)) and became the show's first openly trans, non-binary writer. They also became a writing supervisor in the second half of season 48. The next day, Rosebud Baker, a writer since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season47)) who was appointed as a Weekend Update writer the previous season, announced she also had left the show after nearly three seasons. On September 2, 2025, it was announced that Please Don't Destroy member John Higgins, who had been a writer on SNL since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason47), would be leaving after four seasons. On September 4, 2025, long-term writer Steven Castillo announced his departure. Castillo previously wrote for the show from (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason43) to (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason47), before returning midway through season 49 in 2024, and overall wrote for seven non-consecutive seasons. He stated that his second run at SNL was never meant to be long-term and that he just wanted to be a part of the 50th season.

On September 30, 2025, prior to the start of the season, seven new writers—Jack Bensinger, Tucker Flodman, Maxwell Gay, Claire McFadden, Rachel Pegram, Jo Sunday, and Maddie Wiener—were all hired. At the same time, Auguste White, a writer who joined in (/wiki/SaturdayNightLive(season48)), had left the show after three seasons.

Additionally, long time senior writer Bryan Tucker is on a temporary leave from the show, longtime writer/producer Erik Kenward (who has been with the show since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason26)) has been promoted to head writer (alongside Kent Sublette, Alison Gates, and Streeter Seidell), and longtime producer Erin Doyle (who has been with the show since (/wiki/SaturdayNightLiveseason35)) has been promoted to top-level producer alongside Kenward and Steve Higgins.

Episodes

Saturday Night Live season 51

<table><thead><tr><th>No. overall</th><th>No. in season</th><th>Host</th><th>Musical guest</th><th>Original release date</th><th>U.S. viewers (millions)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>989</td><td>1</td><td>Bad Bunny</td><td>Doja Cat</td><td>October 4, 2025 (2025-10-04)</td><td>4.41</td></tr><tr><td>990</td><td>2</td><td>Amy Poehler</td><td>Role Model</td><td>October 11, 2025 (2025-10-11)</td><td>4.07</td></tr><tr><td>991</td><td>3</td><td>Sabrina Carpenter</td><td>Sabrina Carpenter</td><td>October 18, 2025 (2025-10-18)</td><td>4.24</td></tr><tr><td>992</td><td>4</td><td>Miles Teller</td><td>Brandi Carlile</td><td>November 1, 2025 (2025-11-01)</td><td>3.36</td></tr><tr><td>993</td><td>5</td><td>Nikki Glaser</td><td>sombr</td><td>November 8, 2025 (2025-11-08)</td><td>4.02</td></tr><tr><td>994</td><td>6</td><td>Glen Powell</td><td>Olivia Dean</td><td>November 15, 2025 (2025-11-15)</td><td>4.17</td></tr><tr><td>995</td><td>7</td><td>Melissa McCarthy</td><td>Dijon</td><td>December 6, 2025 (2025-12-06)</td><td>4.30</td></tr><tr><td>996</td><td>8</td><td>Josh O'Connor</td><td>Lily Allen</td><td>December 13, 2025 (2025-12-13)</td><td>3.95</td></tr><tr><td>997</td><td>9</td><td>Ariana Grande</td><td>Cher</td><td>December 20, 2025 (2025-12-20)</td><td>5.40</td></tr><tr><td>998</td><td>10</td><td>Finn Wolfhard</td><td>A$AP Rocky</td><td>January 17, 2026 (2026-01-17)</td><td>4.14</td></tr><tr><td>999</td><td>11</td><td>Teyana Taylor</td><td>Geese</td><td>January 24, 2026 (2026-01-24)</td><td>4.44</td></tr><tr><td>1,000</td><td>12</td><td>Alexander Skarsgård</td><td>Cardi B</td><td>January 31, 2026 (2026-01-31)</td><td>4.82</td></tr><tr><td>1,001</td><td>13</td><td>Connor Storrie</td><td>Mumford & Sons</td><td>February 28, 2026 (2026-02-28)</td><td>4.61</td></tr><tr><td>1,002</td><td>14</td><td>Ryan Gosling</td><td>Gorillaz</td><td>March 7, 2026 (2026-03-07)</td><td>4.34</td></tr><tr><td>1,003</td><td>15</td><td>Harry Styles</td><td>Harry Styles</td><td>March 14, 2026 (2026-03-14)</td><td>4.79</td></tr><tr><td>1,004</td><td>16</td><td>Jack Black</td><td>Jack White</td><td>April 4, 2026 (2026-04-04)</td><td>TBD</td></tr><tr><td>1,005</td><td>17</td><td>Colman Domingo</td><td>Anitta</td><td>April 11, 2026 (2026-04-11)</td><td>TBD</td></tr></tbody></table>

Ratings

Saturday Night Live season 51

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Title</th><th>Air date</th><th>Rating (18–49)</th><th>Viewers (millions)</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"Bad Bunny / Doja Cat"</td><td>October 4, 2025</td><td>0.83</td><td>4.634</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"Amy Poehler / Role Model"</td><td>October 11, 2025</td><td>0.66</td><td>4.369</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"Sabrina Carpenter"</td><td>October 18, 2025</td><td>0.69</td><td>4.365</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Miles Teller / Brandi Carlile"</td><td>November 1, 2025</td><td>0.44</td><td>3.496</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"Nikki Glaser / sombr"</td><td>November 8, 2025</td><td>0.54</td><td>4.023</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"Glen Powell / Olivia Dean"</td><td>November 15, 2025</td><td>0.59</td><td>4.165</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>"Melissa McCarthy / Dijon"</td><td>December 6, 2025</td><td>0.55</td><td>4.304</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>"Josh O'Connor / Lily Allen"</td><td>December 13, 2025</td><td>0.52</td><td>3.949</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>"Ariana Grande / Cher"</td><td>December 20, 2025</td><td>0.90</td><td>5.404</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>"Finn Wolfhard / A$AP Rocky"</td><td>January 17, 2026</td><td>0.63</td><td>4.140</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>"Teyana Taylor / Geese"</td><td>January 24, 2026</td><td>0.51</td><td>4.437</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>"Alexander Skarsgård / Cardi B"</td><td>January 31, 2026</td><td>0.70</td><td>4.820</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>"Connor Storrie / Mumford & Sons"</td><td>February 28, 2026</td><td>0.76</td><td>4.611</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>"Ryan Gosling / Gorillaz"</td><td>March 7, 2026</td><td>0.60</td><td>4.342</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>"Harry Styles"</td><td>March 14, 2026</td><td>TBD</td><td>4.792</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>